Men's Basketball 1/5/08 -- Hamline 80, Augsburg 79
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ST. PAUL, Minn. (1/5/08) -- In a game that changed leads in dramatic fashion in the last 10 minutes of the game, the Hamline University men's basketball team defeated visiting Augsburg College 80-79 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest on Saturday afternoon at Hutton Arena.
Nate Alm (JR, Eden Prairie, Minn.) claimed his third double-double, and second straight, in an Augsburg uniform, scoring 13 points with 16 rebounds. Jon Cassens (SO, Prior Lake, Minn.) scored 16 points to lead the Auggies, while Femi Solaja (SR, Cottage Grove, Minn./St. Paul Harding HS) had 12 points and six rebounds.
The host Pipers took their first lead in the opening seconds on a Carl Hipp (FY, Little Canada, Minn.) jumper and held a lead as large as six points halfway through the opening period. The two points were the first of 13 that Hipp would tally in the game.
The visiting Auggies fought back, gaining the lead with three-and-a-half minutes to play in the half on a jumper by Darren Nelson * (JR, Richfield, Minn.). Hamline tied the game with 57 seconds to play, but entered the locker room at halftime trailing by three after an Augsburg three-pointer from Matt Beal (JR, Belle Plaine, Minn.).
Augsburg maintained the lead at the start of the second half, until Eric Clute (FY, Hawley, Minn.) was sent to the line at 8:33 and sunk two shots to give the Pipers a 61-60 lead. Hamline and Augsburg battled on the floor for the last eight-and-a-half minutes, tying up the score up five different times in that period.
After Augsburg gained a one-point lead on a free throw with 1:45 to play, Brandon Hayes (JR, Bloomington, Minn.) drained a shot from outside the arc to put Hamline ahead 79-74. Clute then made a steal and sunk a jumper as part of a three-point play after the ensuing foul put him at the line, putting Hamline ahead 79-74.
With just seconds remaining, Augsburg brought the score to 80-79 on a jumper and had the chance to tie the game from the free-throw line after a foul, but couldn't convert.
Clute led Hamline with 26 points, while Hipp had 13 and Tony Thrasher (JR, Hustisford, Wis.) had 12.
The Pipers improved to 6-4 overall, 4-1 in MIAC play, while the Auggies fell to 2-7 overall, 0-4 in MIAC play. Hamline will play at home again Monday (1/7), when they will take on Concordia at 7:30 p.m. Augsburg will face Macalester on Monday at 7:45 p.m. in a game at St. Catherine.
